Granddaughter of German businessman murdered by the IRA in 1973 reveals how she never thought she would live to be 40 – after both her parents and grandmother committed suicide in the wake of the tragedy

The granddaughter of a German businessman kidnapped and murdered by the IRA 50 years ago has expressed her fears that she would not reach the age of 40 after the tragedy sent shockwaves through her family and had devastating consequences.

Tanya Williams-Powell is the granddaughter of Thomas Niedermayer who was kidnapped from his west Belfast home in 1973.

A new film exploring what happened to Thomas suggests the man behind the kidnapping was senior IRA commander Brian Keenan, who died in 2008. After his kidnapping, Thomas was never seen again, and it is widely believed that he was beaten to death while trying to flee. his captors.

Face Down: The Disappearance of Thomas Niedermayer, which aired on RTÉ in Ireland this week, explores further tragedies that plagued Thomas’ family as they grappled with the trauma of losing him, including the suicide of his wife and daughter, and the tragic death of his father. other daughter.

Half a century after her grandfather was kidnapped from her home in Britain, Tanya told the documentary that she couldn’t believe she was reaching her 40th birthday after losing so many members of her family at a young age.

Thomas was living in a bungalow in west Belfast with his wife Ingeborg and two daughters, Renate and Gabriele, when he was taken from his home by militants on December 27, 1973.

Ingeborg was in hospital at the time, meaning Thomas was home with the two teenage girls, who opened the door to the militants and witnessed their father being forced out of his home.

As reported by the Irish timesthe film claims they acted on behalf of Keenan, in the first of what became a wave of kidnappings across the city as the IRA stepped up its campaign.

Thomas Niedermayer was a German businessman living in west Belfast who was kidnapped from his home by the IRA in 1973. His body was found seven years later.

Ingeborg Niedermayer, pictured at her husband’s funeral in 1980, took her own life seventeen years after Thomas’s kidnapping

It has long been suspected that former IRA commander Brian Keenan, who died in 2008, was behind Niedermayer’s kidnapping

The most widely accepted theory about his fate is that he was beaten to death while trying to escape his captors, who later buried themselves in remote woods.

For the better part of a decade, Thomas’ kidnappers did not reveal where they buried his body or how he died. But in 1980 the businessman’s remains were discovered by the Royal Ulster Constabulary.

He was lying face down in a rubbish dump near his home, with his hands tied and gagged. A post-mortem examination revealed that he had died of trauma to the head after being hit with a gun.

After his body was finally discovered, a funeral was held for Thomas in Dunmurry, where he was laid to rest in the church cemetery.

The Irish independent reports that the priest praised Ingeborg during the service for having “endured the sorrow and suffering with great dignity.”

After the funeral, Ingebord returned to Germany. But in 1990 she booked a flight back to Ireland and checked into a hotel in Bray, Co. Wicklow.

Days later she took her own life by walking into the sea.

The couple’s daughters also met a tragic end, with Renata dying from complications related to bulimia, while Tanya Williams-Powell’s mother Gabriele also committed suicide. Gabriele’s husband, and Tanya’s father, took their own lives after his wife’s death.

In the film, Tanya and her sister Rachel discussed how they dealt with the kidnapping of their grandfather and the suicides of both their parents and their grandmother.

While Tanya now lives in the UK, Rachel revealed she moved to Australia to escape the trauma of being stuck at home after so much tragedy.

She told the film: ‘I came to Australia to escape everything that was happening to us.’

Tanya is now a mother herself and lives in Great Britain. She told the documentary that she was relieved when she reached her 40th birthday because none of the elders in her family ever lived to their senior years.

‘I’m enjoying life now. Being a mother is just amazing,” she said. “I could have allowed myself to fall back into that dark place.” I managed to get out.”

They revealed that they knew nothing about their family’s troubled past until their parents died by suicide.

After the death of their father and mother, the sisters discovered a box full of Irish newspaper clippings from the 1970s, which allowed them to trace their family history.

Earlier this year, ahead of the film’s release, Tanya reflected on the kidnapping and murder of her grandfather and the lasting impact it has had on her family.

She said: ‘And I remember seeing Inge when I was young, and all I saw of her was a very small, sad person who was not over the events, and it just seemed heavy to her all the time to tax.’

Tanya also revealed that she saw the impact her grandfather’s death had had on her mother Gabriele and aunt Renate, who never forgave themselves for opening the front door to the men who would kidnap him.

“The guilt they felt and not being able to really talk to each other,” she said.

‘That seemed to overshadow her entire life, especially for my mother. I think mental health issues, especially back then, were even more taboo than they still are today. It was all swept under the rug.”

If you are struggling with your mental health, you can contact the Samaritans helpline 24/7 on 116 123